Airlines cancel flights after US and Israel strike Iran

Feb 28 (Reuters) – Global airlines cancelled flights across the Middle East on Saturday after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, plunging the region into a new conflict.

Airspace over Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Bahrain and Jordan was empty early on Saturday, maps by flight-tracking service Flightradar24 showed. The European Union’s aviation regulator recommended that its airlines stay out of the airspace affected by the military intervention.

Below is the latest on flights listed by airline in alphabetical order:

AEGEAN AIRLINES

Greece’s largest carrier suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv in Israel, Beirut in Lebanon and Erbil in Iraq until March 2.

AIR FRANCE KLM

Air France cancelled flights  to and from Tel Aviv in Israel and Beirut in Lebanon for Saturday.

KLM brought forward the suspension of its Amsterdam–Tel Aviv service, cancelling the flight scheduled for Saturday. The Dutch arm of Air France‑KLM had announced on Wednesday that flights would be halted from Sunday, but has now advanced that date.

Only one flight to Tel Aviv had been scheduled for Saturday.

BRITISH AIRWAYS

ICAG-owned British Airways said it has cancelled flights to Tel Aviv and Bahrain until March 3 and its flight to Amman on Saturday.

IBERIA EXPRESS

The Spanish airline owned by Iberia Group cancelled a flight to Tel Aviv scheduled for Saturday at 5 p.m. local time.

INDIGO

The airline said it was monitoring regional updates.

JAPAN AIRLINES

Japan Airlines cancelled a flight on Saturday from Tokyo Haneda to Doha as well as a return flight on March 1, Nikkei said.

LOT POLISH AIRLINES

LOT Polish Airlines returned its flight LO121 from Warsaw to Dubai to Warsaw.

LUFTHANSA

The German airline suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv in Israel, Beirut in Lebanon, and Oman until March 7 and flights to and from Dubai on Saturday and Sunday.

They also said they would not fly through Israeli, Lebanese, Jordanian, Iraqi and Iranian airspace until March 7.

NORWEGIAN AIR

The Nordic airline suspended all flights to and from Dubai until March 4, a company spokesperson said. The carrier did not suspend flights to Tel Aviv in Israel or Beirut in Lebanon as these destinations are only active in summer, he added.

SCANDINAVIAN AIRLINES

The airline told Reuters it had suspended its flight to Tel Aviv from Copenhagen on Saturday. No decision had been made regarding flights on later dates.

TURKISH AIRLINES

The airline cancelled flights to Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman on Saturday and flights to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Jordan until March 2.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC

Virgin Atlantic said it will temporarily avoid Iraqi airspace, resulting in some pre-planned rerouting of its flights and has cancelled its VS400 service from London Heathrow to Dubai on Saturday.

QATAR AIRWAYS

The airline said it has temporarily suspended flights to and from Doha due to the closure of Qatari airspace.

WIZZ AIR

The airline halted flights to and from Israel, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman with immediate effect until March 7.

It added that operational decisions would continue to be reviewed, and the flight schedule could be adjusted as the situation evolves.

(Compiled by Josephine Mason; Reporting by Reuters buros; editing by Barbara Lewis)